New Zealand

New Zealand Billiards Championship

In a repeat of last years final, Peter de Groot (Canterbury) beat Wayne Carey (Auckland), to win the 2002 New Zealand Billiards Championship, held July 10-13 at the Stratford Club, Stratford, a small town on the western side of the central North Island. De Groot also had the satisfaction of scoring the highest break of the tournament, a 155 against Russell Robinson in the quarter-finals, Robinson making a welcome return to the championship after a break of several years.

The tournament began with section play on July 10 and 11 with the field of 25, the largest in recent years, divided into five sections of four and one of five. The matches in section play were two hours and the top two from each section along with the two best thirds qualified for post-section play.

As often happens in New Zealand tournaments most matches in section play went according to seeding. An important exception was Paul Stocker's (Hawkes Bay) matches. Stocker, a former New Zealand champion, lost two of his three matches and played former New Zealand champion Derek Gibb (Wellington) in the first round of post-section play. Gibb beat Stocker 525 - 297 in the two hour match and Stocker was unexpectedly out at the last sixteen.

The quarter-finals saw some good scoring with de Groot, aided by a break of 155, just failing to make 1000 points in the four hours. De Groot would have probably reached four figures had it not been for a safety duel with his opponent Russell Robinson which saw both players tap the opponent's ball along the bottom cushion twenty-one times each. Tony Stephens (Hawkes Bay) and Gary Oliver (Canterbury), both former runner-ups in the New Zealand Championship, had a close match which Stephens won 781-651.

The scoring was lower and the matches closer in the semi-finals. De Groot beat Stephens 609 - 569, and Carey beat Gibb 692 - 593. The first two-hour session of the final was close and Carey went to the interval leading de Groot by just 22 points, 348-326. De Groot fared a lot better in the second session, outscoring Carey 379-237, to give de Groot the title 705-585. Both players made good breaks for the final of the New Zealand Championship, with de Groot making 98, 78 and 58, and Carey 68, 50 and 70.

A plate was held for the non-qualifiers and the two-hour final produced a close match, Chris Anderson (Waikato) eventually beating Bryce Good (Auckland) 396 - 343. Good is a newcomer to the national scene and has been receiving guidance from Wayne Carey over recent times.

North Harbour Open Billiards

Wayne Carey (Auckland), playing possibly his finest billiards in a New Zealand tournament, beat Joe Ifa (Waikato) 638-329 in the twohour final of the North Harbour Open, a ranking tournament held at Snooker World, Royal Oak, Auckland, New Zealand, August 24 and 25. During the final Carey made two centuries (131, 146), a rarity in the final of a New Zealand ranking tournament since the retirement of Dave Meredith, as well as breaks of 94 and 76.

Carey's form in the final was a continuation of that in the first two rounds of post-section play. In the quarter-finals he beat Peter Stephens (Hawkes Bay) 612-206, scoring breaks of 62 and 103, and in the semifinals, he beat Ron Milicich (Auckland) 693-265, scoring breaks of 95, 146 and 59, the first two breaks being almost back to back.

Ifa had a more difficult route to the final. He comfortably beat Bryce Good (Auckland) 527-232 in the quarter-finals, but then struggled in a low scoring match against Tony Stephens (Hawkes Bay), winning 350-287. The tournament had twelve entrants, a typical number for a New Zealand ranking tournament. Some leading players who had entered in previous years did not enter. Their absence meant lower ranked players gained valuable experience of post-section play.